Body Mass Index (BMI) is one accepted measure of whether you’re a healthy weight for your height. A BMI of more than 30 is considered obese.

Obesity has been researched for many years and we know that there’s a clear association between certain types of conditions and being obese. It also puts you at greater risk of developing serious symptoms of COVID-19 as well as breast and bowel cancer.

If you have a BMI above 30, and need help to lose weight, there are various options for treatment depending on how much weight you want to lose:

• Lifestyle changes involve making changes to your diet, taking some (or more) exercise, and altering other lifestyle habits, either on your own or with the aid of a self-help support group
• Weight loss programs offer advice on how to support a healthy lifestyle, including setting out an eating pattern and an exercise program
• Counselling can explore your thoughts, feelings, and actions towards yourself and your relationship with food, eating, and exercise
• There are new weight loss medications on the market that may help. These can be prescribed by your GP
• Weight loss surgery - also known as bariatric surgery

There are different options available, but the common goal of weight loss surgery is to restrict the volume of food you can eat by reducing the capacity of your stomach. We offer a range of treatments which, alongside specialist advice from our experts, will help you to reduce your food portions, leading to a healthier lifestyle and effective long-term weight loss.

There’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all or ‘best’ weight loss surgery. The different types of weight loss surgery have their own pros and cons, and some bariatric procedures are more invasive than others. Our specialists will work with you to identify the procedure which is most likely to help you meet your weight loss goals.

Book a consultation to discuss which weight loss surgery is right for you by completing our online booking form or by calling our Private Patient Team on 01580 363158.

Bariatric surgery is another term for weight loss surgery. Another term that’s used is metabolic surgery. This term covers a range of procedures used to help you to reduce your weight for the long term through, but not limited to, reducing and altering the levels of ghrelin - the gut hormone responsible for causing hunger.

In our experience, most people who have weight reduction surgery have already tried some, or all, of the other options available to them. If you’ve tried to lose weight through a healthy lifestyle and diet, but haven’t been successful, weight loss surgery could change your life for the better.

Bariatric surgery has been shown to have some remarkable results and long-lasting beneficial effects. It can have benefits other than weight loss, such as remission from type 2 diabetes or a reduced risk of hypertension, sleep apnoea, and heart disease as well as some cancers. And since your mobility usually improves as a result of weight loss, it'll have a positive impact on your physical and mental wellbeing.

But it’s important to remember that bariatric surgery isn’t a quick fix – it’s a serious consideration. Weight loss surgery is effective when paired with a commitment to a lifelong weight management program to ensure that losing and maintaining your weight loss is realistic.

Everybody’s circumstances are different so, before considering private weight loss surgery, you should speak to a specialist to see if it’s the right course of action for you.

If you’re struggling to identify which type of weight loss surgery is right for you, your Bariatric Consultant will talk you through all the available options and how they’ll help you achieve your weight loss goals. They’ll offer guidance and advice based on BMI, lifestyle, and any health concerns or previous surgeries you may have had.

There are also other factors for you to consider, such as whether the procedure is reversible and other lifestyle changes you may need to make after your weight loss surgery.

Your Consultant may suggest that reversible weight loss procedures are worth exploring first. With a gastric balloon, you could lose between 30 to 35 percent of the excess weight. A gastric band is another temporary option, where you could lose about 50 percent of your excess weight.

A gastric sleeve or a gastric bypass are non-reversible procedures, and you may lose more of the excess weight - 70% with the sleeve and 80 to 90 percent with a bypass.

Weight loss surgery costs can vary between procedures, so we’d recommend contacting our team of expert Consultants to learn more.

As with any operation, there are risks associated with bariatric procedures. Although these risks are small, there are clinical complications which your consultant will discuss with you as part of the consent process as well as other considerations  you should be aware of such as :

• Following the surgery, you may be left with excess folds of skin. These can be reduced by using firming creams and taking exercise - but it’s not uncommon to need to pay for further surgery to remove excess skin
• Not getting enough vitamins and minerals from your diet means that you may need to take diet supplements

Before you undergo a weight loss procedure, your specialist will talk to you about all the associated risks and lifestyle changes you may need to make following the surgery.

You can access weight loss surgery at Benenden Hospital as a self-paying patient. If you would like to discuss your the cost of weight loss surgery, please complete our online booking form or call our Private Patient Team on 01580 363158. We’d be happy to give you an all-inclusive, no-obligation quote once we fully understand your needs.

Do I need a referral from my GP?

You don’t need a GP referral. As we only offer private weight loss surgery and procedures, you can book a consultation with us directly by completing our online booking form or by calling our Private Patient Team on 01580 363158.

During your initial appointment at our Kent hospital, your Consultant Bariatric Surgeon will discuss the best weight loss surgery for you and review how effective other weight loss methods have been for you. This will help them to understand whether weight loss surgery could be an option for you, and how they can help you achieve your weight loss goals.

They’ll follow your journey through the pre-operative process, your stay in a modern, ensuite private room at our hospital and any follow-up appointments, which are all included in our comprehensive package.

After weight loss surgery, most patients experience an increase in wellbeing, better mental health, and improved quality of life. As your weight drops following the procedure, you’ll find it easier to exercise and you may find that your risk of weight-related problems such as diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure decrease.

If you live with Type 2 diabetes, in 65% of cases it can go into remission two years after having surgery. That means either a complete reduction in your diabetic medication with no recurrence or you may be able to come off your medication completely.

High blood pressure can also be helped with surgery; this means your medication can be reduced or, in some cases, you could come off the medication completely.

We offer abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) and brachioplasty (arm lift) as cosmetic surgery self-pay treatments.

Contact us using our online enquiry form or call our Private Patient Team 01580 363158 to find out more about private weight loss surgery.